David - Kansas City, Missouri (Worship Leader)
David, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is David. I was born and lived most of my life in Germany. I grew up in a Christian home, along with two brothers and one sister. My father is the pastor of a German Baptist Church. Five years ago, I came to the United States to attend William Jewell College in Kansas City. After graduation, I did a sort of internship and then became the worship minister of a small local Baptist church in the Kansas City area.
So why did you take a Max Missions Trip?
When I became the worship minister I also started helping with the youth group of our church. Kenton, our student pastor, was beginning the planning process for a youth missions trip. We did not really have the resources to go on a full-fledged missions trip though. Through friends from the college who have been involved with GFA, I found out about the Max Missions Trip. Rather than raising funds for a traditional mission trip to another part of the United States, we could put similar efforts into a "trip" that would be rewarding to the Kingdom beyond proportion.
What kind of stuff did you do to raise support for your missionary?
While only a few of the youth actually became involved in sending out fundraising letters, many of them participated in the pancake breakfast for the community. I also had the opportunity to share the ministry of Gospel for Asia with the church on a Sunday night. Afterwards we took a collection. All three things together brought in the needed amount to "go" on the mission trip.
What kind of response did you get when you told people about your missionary and invited them to help support Him?
People were very interested to hear about this kind of mission support. The response of the church was really positive on that Sunday evening. Afterwards we noticed that we had not invested enough in the support raising letters. Because we received very good responses from many of those who received the letters.
How did the support come in? Was it in the way that you expected?
The success of the pancake breakfast wasn't anticipated. But since we weren't as strong in the mailing of the support letters, it was good to have this additional way of fundraising. Coming before the church was a welcome opportunity – not least because it gave us the chance to share the mission of GFA with more people.
What was the best part of the trip for you?
The great thing about the trip was that we could spread the mission and vision of GFA: to reach the unreached peoples of this earth with the Gospel. We could do missions work and at the same time animate others of our own people to join in.
What would you tell someone who is considering taking a Max Missions Trip?
The prewritten support letter is really a great opportunity to spread the vision of this trip and make an impact in other people's lives at the same time. It is actually a great chance for evangelism. Many people like to do a "good deed". Through the support letters and the inserted information material, they find out that the greatest "good deed" one could be part of is the sharing of the Good News with people who are lost and doomed.
How did this trip impact your relationship with God? What things did you gain or learn from it?
I am more on fire for world missions. I also think of local missions or evangelism on one hand and world missions on the other as two pieces in the same pie. How does one affect the other? Can I combine the two?
What kind of impact do you believe this will have on the unreached of Asia? On eternity?
The Maximum Mission Trip is like sowing a seed into very fertile ground. It is bound to grow up. I believe that our missionary, Varghese, will reach many, many lost people in Asia for the Lord. They are people whom I could never reach. One day my young friends and I will see them in heaven, knowing that we were allowed to have a part in their coming to salvation.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving us the chance to go on such an unforgettable missions trip!
